1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for inserting documents into envelopes and, more particularly, to an apparatus and method for inserting folded documents into envelopes in a high-speed electronic finishing system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the electronic finishing field, multi-page documents such as insurance policies and contracts are printed on high-speed laser printers and then finished on an electronic finishing system which assembles the document and adds any desired inserts (such as prefolded advertising brochures or other solicitations) to the document to create a product which are sometimes folded in manner set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 5,554,094. Then, the product is inserted into a standard envelope to create a package ready for mailing. These steps are done at high speed while the accuracy of the document assembly is verified through use of a printed bar code on each sheet of the document.
Envelope inserters found in the prior art are complicated requiring separate assemblies to feed, position, open and stuff the envelope. These separate assemblies require numerous moving parts and constant maintenance. The prior art envelope inserters also encounter difficulty in handling packages of varying thicknesses.